Turchinov said “all provocations against Ukrainian servicemen” should be ended by 23:00 Moscow Time (21:00 Kiev Time), which, according to him, is also the deadline for Gaiduk’s release. Otherwise, Turchinov said, the current Ukrainian authorities would “take relevant measures, including technical and technological.”

Earlier, prosecutors in Sevastopol, a city with a special status, told the CrimeaInform news agency that Gaiduk was detained “because there are questions to be posed to him.” Prosecutors said Gaiduk “transferred an order from Kiev to Ukrainian military units to use weapons against civilians”.

The Republic of Crimea, where most residents are Russians, held a referendum on March 16, in which some 97 percent of the population voted for Crimea to secede from Ukraine and become part of Russia. On Tuesday, Russia and Crimea signed in Moscow a treaty on Crimea’s accession to the Russian Federation as a constituent member.

Russia does not recognize the current Ukrainian authorities who seized power as a result of a coup in February.